It's the first day of school! Harry is nervous because he isn't sure what to expect. Triceratops is even more nervous, especially when Harry must leave the dinosaurs in the coatroom. But soon Harry sees another boy who is the most nervous of all. He clings to his toy bulldozer and won't talk to anyone in the class. Harry wonders what he can do. Perhaps the new boy will talk to dinosaurs. . . .

Our drive to consume -- our desire for food, clothing, smart phones, and megahomes --evolved from our ancestors' drive to survive. But the psychological and neural processes thatoriginally evolved to guide mammals toward resources that are necessary but scarce may mislead us inmodern conditions of material abundance. Such phenomena as obesity, financial bubbles, hoarding, andshopping sprees suggest a mismatch between our instinct to consume and our current environment. Thisvolume brings together research from psychology, neuroscience, economics, marketing, animalbehavior, and evolution to explore the causes and consequences of consumption.

Contributors consider such topics as how animal food-storing informs humanconsumption; the downside of evolved 'fast and frugal' rules for eating; how futurediscounting and the draw toward immediate rewards influence food consumption, addiction, and ourability to save; overconsumption as social display; and the policy implications of consumptionscience.

Taken together, the chapters make the case for an emerginginterdisciplinary science of consumption that reflects commonalities across species, domains, andfields of inquiry. By carefully comparing mechanisms that underlie seemingly disparate outcomes, wecan achieve a unified understanding of consumption that could benefit both science andsociety.

All’s quiet on Granny and Grandad’s farm as night falls. But Tim’s Ted is missing and Tim can’t sleep without him…